ECU Tuning the Yamaha YXZ1000R is a great way to improve the performance of the 998cc, 3 cylinder engine.  Coming stock with 112 horsepower, it makes just 2 horsepower more than the latest Polaris RZR 1000 at 110 horsepower.  It is really difficult to compare these 2 vehicles though.  The Yamaha is more like a car or a bike on how the horsepower and torque curves come into play.  It is much more linear and revs out higher. What really separates this SXS from others like the Polaris is the sequential transmission featuring a multi-plate clutch and flywheel.  Like a dirt bike, you can bang through the gears once at speed but it requires the clutch pedal to get going or to use when stopping.  The manual transmission really puts a new element of driving a SXS to the test.  However, unlike the Polaris in doing a start and stop test, this allows us to test in a close 1 to 1 gear which is 4th on the dyno.

When testing at our Gilbert, AZ facility, we test on a Mustang All Wheel Drive Dyno.  This dyno has a load cell that gives you the best and closest real world results.  The dyno simulates a rolling road test and puts a load with a correction factor to the vehicles results.  Our baseline of the Yamaha YXZ1000R was 78 rwhp and 58 ft/lbs of torque.  On 91 octane and with an ambient temperature of about 90F, our readings are pretty accurate.  We typically factory in a 15-20% drivetrain loss for 2 wheel drive vehicles.  However on the SXS we have been seeing a 30% drivetrain loss which is consistent here with our Polaris RZR tests.  The Mustang Dyno will always read much lower than others, but its the gain that counts in the power curve.  When you do run other mods such as an exhaust and intake, the ECU will adjust for those.  More importantly, if you add higher octane fuel or octane booster, the vehicle will gain power and run much better.

After some initial dyno tests, we found a good mix of calibrations to give the Yamaha YXZ1000R a gain over stock.  The new VR Tuned ECU flash for the YXZ1000R produces about 5 rwhp and 5 ft/lbs of torque at the mid-range 40-50 mph mark.  Horsepower stays consistent in it’s gain to the top end.  Peak numbers show the tuned file at 81 rwhp and 60 ft/lbs of torque.  With the tune, we raise the rev limiter to be at 10,500 in all gears and lift the speed limiter.  Improved ignition and fuel mapping along with the torque limiters removed help give the Yamaha a much better response down load.  In addition to the performance dyno testing, we also did a 1/8th mile test which is a feature of the Mustang dyno.  This can be used for actual performance measurements, but can vary by the drivers reaction time.  We included the video of that test so you can see how quickly the Yamaha YXZ1000R goes through the gears!

Interested in ordering a Yamaha YXZ1000R ECU Tune, Go Here!

Yamaha YXZ1000R on the Dyno

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Yamaha YXZ1000R Dyno Sheet

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Yamaha YXZ1000R ECU Flashing

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Yamaha YXZ1000R ECU Connection

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Yamaha YXZ1000R ECU Removal

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About The Author

Dan Mermelstein - Co-Owner, Blogger, Porsche Enthusiast, VRTuned Marketing and Technical Support. Available to make your car faster!

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